Well, it's closer to WI than MI is. Right? :)

Thanks Kirstin! It's good to know we're not alone, that always helps! I really wish the G&T programs hadn't been dropped. In our county, the ONLY schools with G&T programs are private and $14-$16K/yr, which is maddening to me. These are kids who have different learning needs and styles that are just as legitimate as a kid with ADHD. Grr!

I know - isn't that a great idea??? Not sure which books I would pick, there are too many good ones. Plus all the ones I haven't read yet! :)

I just found the piece so mean-spirited -- attacking individual moms for choosing attachment parenting, blaming moms for their parenting choices while entirely ignoring dads' roles, etc. -- that I wasn't interested in her central point (did she really have one?) A few of her thoughts ring true, but as a whole the column just made me shake my head. I don't care HOW you parent, parenting takes TIME, especially when your kids are small. Some of us hire help so we can work, some of us stay home and do it ourselves, some of us have family nearby who help out, but there's no getting around the fact that kids need care. As you say, it's a basic fact of biology and infant development. A lot of the things I do are to keep my kids healthy and happy for my own convenience - including breastfeeding. So sue me. It seems her true gripe is that today's parents are not a unified group directly attacking the things *she* sees as problems - ie: environmental carcinogens, nuclear war - and instead are spending all our time browsing organic apples at the farmer's market. If we would all just focus our energy on the big problems instead of this stupid eco-attachment parenting thing, we'd have no worries, right? Yeah. Well, someone still has to buy the Pampers, mix the formula, and pick the kids up before 6pm. I had hoped that maybe we were moving into a new wave of feminism where the work of raising a family - the physical, brain-numbing, day-in-day-out routine of taking care of children - would be valued as much as anything else, but I guess not. And the fact is, I LIKE my kids. I like spending time with them. I wouldn't have had them had I not anticipated that. Yes I work and they go to day care, but I have no desire to ship them off to a childcare commune as Jong seems to. I don't know. I've read this now at least 3 times, and I STILL don't understand her point. I'm to do my own thing as a parent, as long as I don't do any sort of attachment parenting? I'm to make up my own rules, as long as I follow Jong's directions? I say, fire this right back at her. Her obsession with parenting is keeping her from leading the rest of us in changing the world. She needs to do the best she can, and stop worrying about what other people say.

OMG - your poor mom! So funny!

Oh good. I will! I put a hold on it and can pick it up Monday morning.

You got it in one... their only child is grown and gone and she doesn't work full-time. Hah!

We like Burn Notice, season three starts next week Thursday on USA, and you can get at least season 1 on DVD. Fluffy and fun spy show. I watch it mostly for Bruce Campbell, I'll admit.

I hope Leo decides against the cold! It can be tough! But saline nose drops work wonders... It's all about finding what works for you as parents. My favorite NP at our pediatrician's office says "happy health parents = happy healthy kids."